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Vampires
Paladins of Order History When Armok finally realized that the quickest way to see the end of Chaos was to have its creations all kill one another, he quickly employed the help of a small mountain tribe living in a fortress-settlement they called Vamprus. He observed that this particular tribe — while small in number — was able to fend off and rout much larger forces with relative ease. They seemed not to care if they perished in battle and even the most grievous of mortal wounds wouldn’t hamper their combat prowess. These crazed savages would collect the heads of their enemies during battles and would then adorn their walls with these gruesome trophies. For the first time, Armok looked upon life and didn’t feel completely disgusted. He envisioned them as his chosen people: culling the planet of all life and burning any evidence of it existing to the ground. He made no effort to bamboozle or trick them into service, but laid out what he wanted before them. There are no surviving records of what transpired after that, as the enigmatic mountain tribe seemed to drop off the face of the planet for a few centuries. Thinking their stronghold was truly abandoned, a retreating army moved in to secure it and found it truly empty upon arrival. Exhausted from their trek up the mountains, they decided to rest there for the night, but when the sun set, they found out that though the town was deserted, the mountain itself was not. Hundreds of ghastly creatures jumped down from impossible heights and tore their way through the soldiers' encampments. While they rallied valiantly, they were no match for this inhumanly strong adversary. In mere minutes, the would be conquerors were cut down to the last man and their bodies forcibly drained of all blood. The sole survivor was a lone courier, sent to relay information about these creatures by the commander of the force before he too was devoured. The courier had a head start, but was soon beset by one of the humanoid horrors. Quickly gaining on him with stupendous speed, the creature was almost upon him when the sun began to rise. The creature shrieked, stunning the man, and disappeared back up the mountain. The courier ran. He ran as fast as he could and for as long as he could. He finally made it back to his liege and reported that the mountain was not forsaken and was in fact a nest to a new breed of abomination far more savage than the barbarians ever were. From then on, the so called “Vampires” would go out and terrorize the civilizations around their ancestral home. They would pillage and slaughter at night and vanish just before the sun rose. Sometimes, particularly strong fighters were whisked away in those assaults, their bodies never found. Rumors spread that they were “turned” into vampires themselves to swell their ranks with only the best and bravest of combatants. While few could stand in their way, there are stories of them being killed: once, a man allegedly kept one locked in combat until the sun was up and the vampire’s attacks became weaker and more erratic until it eventually burst into flames and perished. Another tale described a man running one through with his sword only to have the beast shrug it off, but turn to ash the moment the man’s wife stabbed it with a ceremonial golden dagger in a bout of desperation. Regardless of the validity of these accounts, they all bring hope to the world that these seemingly unstoppable and mysterious vampires can in fact be killed. These stories are not the only hope man has ever had of destroying vampires, however. It's said that after centuries of terrorizing the main continent, they nearly wiped out an entire tribe of Beast worshipers. In revenge, The Beast possessed them and gave them strength far beyond that of the greatest vampire. After driving off the vampires from the main continent, the three werewolves began to build their packs without The Beast's constant demand for slaughter. Even without the god's intervention, one alpha werewolf can destroy platoons of vampires, and an ordinary werewolf fit to destroy one or two vampires on it's own with ease. It's the Bloodmoon clan that puts this theory to the test with it's eternal enmity against vampires, but every so often The Beast calls for a Great Hunt, bringing mass slaughter to the vampires from all clans once more. This doesn't mean that vampires and werewolves have never worked together against greater foes, far from it, but the Bloodmoon clan in particular has never done so. Physiology and Society There are two ways to become a vampire and both are extremely painful. The first method is to get turned by another vampire, which can happen intentionally or accidentally. The second is receiving the direct blessing of Armok himself by constructing a dark altar to him and praying. Over the course of the next three days the fledgling vampire will begin going through drastic changes as their bodies are infused with the power of the blood god. This process finally culminates in the person becoming a true vampire and a Paladin of Order. Even the lowliest of vampires are almost immediately made aware of their purpose in the world and — whether through mystical means or otherwise — they are by this point fully indoctrinated. While like their master the vampires detest life, they nonetheless need it to survive. They can’t very well please their god if they desiccate long before they can ever obliterate all the followers of chaos, now can they? Frequently, vampire nests are found with fully functioning farms to feed their livestock. While vampires cannot eat food like normal beings, their blood slaves, followers, and livestock all do, resulting in a need for agriculture. Vampires are also biologically immortal in the same way lobsters are: their regenerative powers are not only so great they can heal minor wounds near instantly and regrow lost limbs, but they can also almost completely halt the aging process. The first vampire is over a few centuries old and looks no older than he did when he was first converted. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the rest of the world, they are even more like lobsters in the fact that while they do not age, they can still be killed. Since The Eternal has made it his personal goal to block Armok at every turn, some of the power he has goes to directly thwarting vampires during the day. As master of the sun and moon, The Eternal has made the sun the bane of vampires: when exposed to direct sunlight, vampires become temporarily blinded, then weakened, then nauseated, then extremely slowed, and finally they are immolated by the power of The Eternal. This can be circumvented by either waiting in their nests until night or burrowing underground and conducting their business down there. With their near perfect night vision, vampires do not need torches or natural light to navigate around their poorly lit nests and tunnel systems. They are also weak to wooden objects and holy water blessed by the priests of The Eternal. Both objects are also effective at causing conflagrations in the ranks of the Paladins. While most vampires are dedicated vassals of Order, some vampires are fabled to have fallen out of favor with Armok or to have turned away from him and have been cured of their curse. While some say death cannot even truly free one from vampirism, others preach a hopeful message that by seeking redemption at an altar of The Eternal, one can revert back to their normal selves. This however does not happen very often, if ever, as most of the disciples of the blood god have a sickening contentedness to them, despite knowing the end game of their liege. Regardless of their intentions and violent tendencies, the vampires are a strongly united force. Presumably, being lords of Order has shaped the otherwise bloodthirsty savages into a well-oiled machine. Their hierarchy is based on combat prowess and they even have an active workforce, not including their slaves. During the day, they are next to useless outside (unless they fight in the shade), so they spend this time either farming, practicing magic, mining, or forging new equipment to be used in their next battle. Since they require no sleep and only seldom need breaks to drink blood, they are an uncannily effective group at getting shit done. They also possess a governing body in the form of a Dark Council. This council system is based on an inner circle led by the first vampire, who acts as both king of his people and high priest of his god. He rules over his sires from the mountain peak overlooking the fortress he lived in when he was mortal. His palace is carved into the very mountain itself and his black throne is covered in the skulls of enemies he made over his long life. While he seems like a tyrannical despot, he is actually a pretty swell guy who doesn’t afraid of anything. Category:Lore Category:Current Category:Race